What is this show? “It’s a tale of kidnap, rape, murder and unflinching violence,” wrote Vicky Frost when the show premiered in the UK. And yes, Happy Valley is really anything but. Sarah Lancashire plays Catherine, a 47-year-old single police sergeant in a small town in the Yorkshire valley, still reeling after her daughter’s suicide. She becomes involved with a disgruntled accountant who orchestrates the abduction of his boss’ daughter with the help of two cons – one of whom Sarah believes to be responsible for her daughter’s suicide.

So it’s basically a British Fargo? Well, trade the frost and the white tundra for moist green hills and it’s pretty close. But this doesn’t have any of the lightness or humor of Fargo.

Then it’s a rip-off of Broadchurch? No, Broadchurch is a lot more brooding and more of a mystery. If Broadchurch is Law & Order: SVU, this is more like Law & Order: Criminal Intent, since you know what’s going on the whole time and get to spend as much time with the criminals as the cops.

What’s the show’s pedigree? It is written and partially directed by Sally Wainwright, a veteran British TV writer. This show was a popular and critical success on the BBC when it aired this spring and soon became a word of mouth smash.

What happens in the premiere? Catherine’s ex-husband (Derek Riddell) tells her that Tommy Lee Royce, the man who raped her daughter, has been released from prison. She also learns that her grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah), who she is raising, is having a difficult time at school. Meanwhile accountant Kevin is pissed at his boss (George Costigan) because he won’t give Kevin the raise he wants so that he can his daughters to private school. He retaliates by hatching a plot to have the boss’s daughter (Charlie Murphy) kidnapped and collect a portion of the ransom. Of course Tommy Lee is one of the guys who picks her up.

Wow isn’t that a lot of plot? It comes across with a lot more subtlety than you would imagine.

Which characters will you love? Catherine is the star of the show. Sure, her tough-as-nails attitude is witty and amusing, but it’s the emotional interiority when dealing with her family, and in particular her grandson, that really makes her a complex character you want to follow through the series. You won’t necessarily love Kevin, the conflicted guy stumbling on the wrong side of the law, or Tommy Lee, the worst kind of narcissistic monster, but they are fully-realized in a way that worse police shows wouldn’t bother with.

Which characters will you hate? As of the first few episodes, Catherine’s sister Clare, a recovering heroin addict who lives with Catherine, is a bit of a waste – all the more sad because she’s played by Siobhan Finneran, who was so amazing as O’Brien on Downton Abbey.

Is this show any good? Happy Valley is dark. Just like Fargo, it is about the scary worlds that we can unlock if we let our more sinister impulses run wild. It’s not like Sons of Anarchy or The Walking Dead, equally vicious shows that seem far removed because they’re about motorcycle gangs or, you know, zombies. Happy Valley is even more sinister because it seems so real, so rooted in our own experience.

That’s what makes it a good show. The characters are living in an extreme circumstance, which has affected them in such interesting and human ways that you won’t seem to mind that much that you have to stretch your credulity a little bit. The tension isn’t that of a whodunit – it grows from wondering how will these people fall. You know the end is coming, but will it be fast enough? What will be the cost?

The visual tone of the show matches the emotional one, with the lush landscape and great acting as a stark contrast to the grey skies and general hopelessness about this small town. Yes, this show is similar to other cop dramas, but thanks to Happy Valley’s light, human touch, it transcends the genre into something even bigger.

What’s the best thing about it? Catherine is one of the better characters created for television in a long time, and Lancashire should be getting the British investigator Emmy nod that used to be reserved for Helen Mirren on Prime Suspect.

What’s the worst thing about it? The pace and tone is unrelenting, and the violence can be hard to take at times. This show is not a pithy distraction or something to make you feel better about life. That usually acts in its favor, but sometimes it is exceedingly dour.

Should you watch this show? Totally! It seems like we’re constantly taught by the Brits how we could be making better television shows and this has all those lessons rolled up into one neat little package. Not only is the story emotional and the characters three-dimensional, it shows that we don’t need 22 episodes or the standard cable 13 to really make an impact. This is only six hours, so it’s perfect for a single rainy-day binge session.